CLT250 Trivia

Many of South Charlotte's streets, neighborhoods, and businesses include the name "Sharon." So who was Sharon?

A: Sharon is a real place in the holy land, mentioned in the Book of Isaiah. Early farmers named Sharon Presbyterian Church in honor of that Bible verse. It became the hub of the Sharon community, near today's South Park Mall.

The route of Tryon Street in uptown reflects the legacy of the Native American people who lived in the Charlotte area before European settlement? What's the name of their tribe?

A: The Catawba people created the Nation's Path, a trade route through what is now the Carolinas and Virginia. It crossed the Catawba River at Nation's Ford (a shallow place) and ran along the hill-top (that's why we call uptown "uptown") where Tryon Street runs today.

In 1891, famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison helped design Charlotte's first streetcars, making possible the city's first streetcar suburb: Dilworth. What were the two other streetcar suburbs?

A: Cotswold and Eastland areas were developed long after streetcars stopped running in 1938.

Cotton mills made the Charlotte area a booming place in the early 1900s. Which neighborhoods were textile mill communities?

a. Gunk engine cleanerb. The orange traffic barrel, ubiquitous in construction zonesA & B: Both Gunk and those orange barrels are products of Radiator Specialty, run by the Blumenthal family - for whom the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in uptown is named.

James Brown recorded "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" in Charlotte in 1965. What other famed musicians recorded here?

a. "Father of Bluegrass" Bill Monroeb. "Godfather of Soul" James Brownc. Indie rock pioneers R.E.M.A, B & C: Bill Monroe made his first-ever records here 1936 - 38, at a time when Charlotte outshined Nashville as a recording center. James Brown recorded the first "funk" record in 1965: "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." R.E.M. came up from Athens, Georgia, to record their LP "Murmur" in 1983, start of today's indie rock sound.

Bonnie Cone taught night classes for returning WWII veterans. Those classes grew into which local university?

A: Bonnie Cone was a teacher at Central High School when she launched college-level night classes for returning WWII veterans - which grew into UNC Charlotte.

Which religious denomination has its national headquarters in Charlotte?

A: The AME Zion religion is headquartered on Sugar Creek Road. The denomination was founded in New York but caught on strong in North Carolina after the Civil War, placing its national publishing house in the Queen City. In the 2000s it moved its main offices to Charlotte.

What's the fastest growing language group spoken at home by families in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools?

A: While Spanish, Vietnamese and Arabic speakers are more numerous, the number of new immigrants is declining. Immigration from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar in the Himalayan Mountains is rising sharply, due to ethnic conflicts there.